The Texas A&M volleyball team defeated the Sooners 3-2 on Tuesday night at Reed Arena, facing a tough Oklahoma team that has battled for five fifth-set wins so far this season.
In the first set, the Sooners took an easy 25-17 win over the Aggies, but A&M bounced back with a tough battle in the second to win 25-20.
“The first set was all on us,” senior hitter Hollann Hans said. “We weren’t executing, [but] we kicked it in the second set.”
The Aggies fought hard with strong defense and waited patiently to score points. Freshman Lauren Davis had a career-high night with 17 kills and scored a crucial 10th-point spike in the second set after a long rally. Hans beat her season-high kills record with 29 — her previous record was 15.
“We were figuring things out and strayed away from our game plan,” Davis said.
After A&M won the third set 25-22 led by Makenna Patterson, who was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, the Sooners rallied back in the fourth set to tie the Aggies and go to the fifth set.
The Aggies won the fifth set 15-12 after Oklahoma freshman Rylie Gregston entered the game for the first time and served out of bounds to give the Aggies the win.
“That was a great team win,” A&M head coach Laura “Bird” Kuhn. “Obviously, a lot of players stepped up, [but there’s] a lot of things we need to clean up.”
The Aggies have an 8-1 record as non-conference play continues for the team. A&M will return to the court to face No. 3 Texas in Austin on Sept. 20.